1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to buckles and more particularly, to such a buckle that uses a slide cover type female buckle member
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional buckles that are formed of a male buckle member and a female buckle member are commonly used in backpacks, travel bags, shoulder bags, etc., to join two parts together. FIGS. 8 and 9 show a buckle of this kind. As illustrated, a buckle A is comprised of a male buckle member A1 and a female buckle member A2. The male buckle member A1 has a center guide rod A12 forwardly extending from the front side, and two spring arms A11 forwardly extending from the front side and equally spaced from the center guide rod A12 at two sides. The two spring arms A11 each have a front end terminating in a retaining block A13 that defines a barbed engagement portion A14. The female buckle member A2 has a front open side A21, a longitudinal track A22 disposed on the inside and extending to the front open side A21 on the middle, and two side holes A23 respectively cut through the two opposite lateral sidewalls thereof. The side holes S23 each define a front engagement edge A231. When in use, the center guide rod A12 and two spring arms A11 of the male buckle member A1 are inserted into the front open side A21 of the female buckle member A2 to force the center guide rod A12 into the longitudinal track A22, and at the same time the two spring arms A11 are squeezed in direction toward the center guide rod A12 by the two opposite lateral sidewalls of the female buckle member A2. After insertion of the center guide rod A12 into the longitudinal track A22, and the spring power of the spring arms A11 of the male buckle member A1 forces the retaining blocks A13 sideways, thereby causing engagement of the barbed engagement portions A14 of the retaining blocks A13 with the respective front engagement edges A231.
The aforesaid buckle is functional, however it still has drawbacks as follows:
1. This buckle design is not suitable for use in a small-sized product. When unlocking the buckle A, the user must use the fingers to squeeze the retaining blocks A13 and to further force the respective barbed engagement portions A14 from the respective front engagement edges A231. If the male buckle member A1 and the female buckle member A2 are small-sized, squeezing the retaining blocks A13 of the spring arms A11 with the fingers will be inconvenient or difficult.
2. Because the spring arms A11 and the center guide rod A12 are suspending at the front side of the male buckle member A1, they may be permanently deformed or broken accidentally when the male buckle member A1 is not fastened to the female buckle member A2.
3. The structural design of the buckle A is complicated and the matching precision of the male buckle member A1 and the female buckle member A2 is critical, and therefore the fabrication of the buckle A is complicated, showing a low yield rate.
4. When fastening the male buckle member A1 to the female buckle member A2, the center guide rod A12 must be accurately aimed at the longitudinal track A22 to ensure accurate positioning.
5. The male buckle member A1 and the female buckle member A2 must match each other in specification. Further, the male buckle member A1 can only be fastened to the female buckle member A2 in one particular direction. This design limits the direction of arrangement of the belts being respectively fastened to the male buckle member A1 and the female buckle member A2, and the belts tend to be wrinkled after installation of the buckle A.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a buckle that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.